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Thursday, November 08, 2018 11:56 am

Survey: Fort Wayne welcoming to veterans

RON SHAWGO | The Journal Gazette

A Navy veteran, Sean Ryan came to Allen County as an engineer with BF Goodrich in 1994, launching the next phase in a career after military service.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Ryan was new to Indiana. While a transfer took him and his young family away for a couple of years in the late 1990s, Ryan said he grabbed the chance to return when another transfer arose. The Ryans have lived in the area ever since.

"I absolutely love it," said Ryan, now director of the Office of Engagement at Purdue Fort Wayne. "It was a wonderful place to raise my family."

As Veterans Day approaches, northeast Indiana has rolled out the welcome mat for military veterans. And it comes at a good time. A recent survey of best places for military veterans to live ranks Fort Wayne 13th highest among the nation's 100 largest cities. San Antonio, Texas, is No. 1.

Separately, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership started a website in July, hoosierhomebase.com, that provides a career search function and other resources for veterans and their families. With a skilled worker shortage in the region, the purpose of the website is to attract some of the 100,000 to 200,000 service members who exit the military each year.

A push to publicize the website comes in conjunction with Veterans Day, to be observed Monday.